The most enjoyable part of cooking razor clams is watching them dramatically spring open as they are cooked on high heat. They have a meaty texture, with a delicate and fresh flavor.
This recipe includes a delicious beurre blanc sauce with some fresh parsley to serve over the razor clams. Alternatively, you could eat them right out of the saute pan, with a crusty chunk of bread to sop up the clam juice.
Razor Clams with Beurre Blanc Sauce
The most enjoyable part of cooking razor clams is watching them dramatically spring open as they are cooked on high heat. They have a meaty texture, with a delicate and fresh flavor. This recipe includes a delicious beurre blanc sauce with some fresh parsley to serve over the razor clams. Alternatively, you could eat them right out of the saute pan, with a crusty chunk of bread to sop up the clam juice.
Ingredients
- 32 oz fresh, live razor clams
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 3 Tbsp tarragon vinegar or nice-quality white wine vinegar
- 1-2 shallots, roughly 3-4 Tbsp finely minced shallots
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 14 Tbsp salted butter, cut into ¼” cubes and kept cold
- Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely sliced, as garnish
Instructions
- Before starting to cook, make sure each razor clam you are planning on cooking is alive.
- Inspect and set your live razor clams aside in a bowl in the fridge while you make the beurre blanc sauce.
- To make the beurre blanc sauce, combine the white wine with the tarragon or white wine vinegar.
- Add the shallots, bring to a simmer, and continue to cook over medium heat.
- Cook the mixture until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, but the cooked shallots are still moist.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and add the heavy cream, stirring until combined.
- Slowly add in the cold, diced butter, and stir the butter into the sauce to create an emulsion.
- Once all the butter has been added, season the sauce with salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.
- When the sauce is ready and being kept very gently warm, cook the clams on high heat in a small amount of steaming water or white wine in a large saute pan with a lid, until the clams have opened their shells and released their liquid.
- If any shells do not open after being cooked, discard those clams.
- When the clams have opened and are cooked, immediately plate in bowls and drizzle with the beurre blanc sauce.
- Garnish with the finely-sliced fresh parsley.
- Mop up the clam liquid in the saute pot using some slices of warm bread to serve on the side.
- Serve hot.
Notes
If the razor clams are not sticking out of the end of their shells and reactive to touch when you buy them, I worry that they are not fresh. Make sure you are dealing with fresh, live razor clams from a fish vendor you trust.
If any shells are broken and you aren’t sure if the clams inside are alive or not, I would always advise that you play it safe and discard any questionable razor clams.
If any shells are broken and you aren’t sure if the clams inside are alive or not, I would always advise that you play it safe and discard any questionable razor clams.